Tuesday October 25th

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Tuesday, as investors prepared themselves for a deluge of corporate earnings, amid an influx of economic data releases. This week is set to be earnings central on Wall Street, with leading brands releasing their latest financial reports. On Tuesday, investors are expected to pay close attention to Apple, Nielsen, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chubb, Juniper Networks and iRobot, who are all set to report. DuPont, Merck, Baker Hughes, Whirlpool 3M, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble, United Technologies, Sprint, Under Armour, JetBlue, Eli Lilly and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles General Motors all posted quarterly results. On top of a bumper batch of earnings, economic data will be at the forefront of trade on Tuesday. At 9 a.m. ET, the FHFA House Price Index and S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index are due, while at 10 a.m. ET, sentiment will shift to the release of the Richmond Fed Survey and Consumer Confidence. While a flood of new earnings reports and data is set to keep Wall Street remarkably busy, the U.S. central bank continues to be in investors' minds. On Tuesday, Atlanta Federal Reserve President, Dennis Lockhart is expected to speak at the Opportunity Finance Network Conference in Atlanta, scheduled for the early afternoon. Meanwhile crude prices posted modest gains on Tuesday, however comments from OPEC members regarding chances of an output cut kept the market on edge, Reuters reported. Around 7:55 a.m. ET, U.S. WTI stood around $50.76 per barrel, while Brenthovered around $51.57. European stocks traded mixed to slightly higher, while Asia-Pacific indexes ended mixed overnight. The Kospi index closed down 10.57 points, or 0.52 percent, at 2,037.17, while the Korean won slipped from levels near 1132.80 to a low of 1139.40 against the dollar after the data was released. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 130.83 points, or 0.76 percent, at 17,365.25, reaching levels not seen since April. The Topix index gained 9.71 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,377.32. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index trimmed early declines to trade nearly flat at 23,617.41 as of 3:29 p.m. HK/SIN. Chinese mainland markets closed modestly higher, with the Shanghai composite up 3.83 points, or 0.12 percent, at 3,132.08, while the Shenzhen composite gained 7.53 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,077.74. In the previous session, U.S. markets closed higher. Gold prices edged up on Tuesday, underpinned by healthy demand, but an increasing probability of a U.S. interest rate hike and a firm U.S. dollar kept prices range-bound. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,268.36 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures were also up 0.4 percent at $1,269 an ounce.